Glimpses of Charleston

A local's eye view

Houses/Buildings/Gates

This eye-catching door, on Queen Street, is the stage door to the Dock Street Theater -- the oldest theater in America.
The ceilings of the porches of this pretty house on Church Street are painted "haint blue" -- to keep the "haints" away. A haint is an spirit or ghost, which you definitely don't want in your house. (Some people say it also helps keeps the bugs away, but that's just a side benefit.)
This handsome pink house was built in 1795. The toothy trim, called quoins, is found on many Charleston masonry and stucco buildings. The quoins usually serve two purposes -- to strengthen the construction and for decoration. They do add a certain flair!
This gate was designed by the wonderful blacksmith, Phillip Simmons. The baseball landed there during a game of catch between father and son a few years ago. The gate itself was made under Mr. Simmon's direction on the National Mall in Washington, DC during the Smithsonian's American Folklife Festival. 
This beautiful door is one of the side entrances to the Charleston County Courthouse (one of the Four Corners of Law). It was designed by James Hoban, the same architect who designed the White House.
This pretty pink house can be found in Price's Alley... one of the cool cut-throughs of Charleston.
This beautiful Charleston scene can be found on a c.1790 Tradd Street house, just around the corner from First Baptist Church -- whose first congregation came to Charleston in 1696.
This house on Legare Street, built in about 1759, was renovated in 1911. Among the the changes made were the additions of the brownstone panels below the windows and the parapet. A little gussying up!
The house on Tradd Street, circa 1740, is guarded by two crepe myrtle trees -- the longest blooming plants in Charleston.
While not officially yet spring, it sure feels that way in Charleston. While this handsome house on Legare Street is not historic (built in 1941), it is next door neighbors to the Sword Gate House -- which surely is.
This little house is tucked away off Murray Boulevard. If they forgot to turn when leaving the driveway, they'd end up in the Ashley River!
This beautiful gate, walk and doorway can be found on Tradd Street. This house, and two of its neighbors were built in the early 1880's -- each having a distinctive bay window in the front of the house, which is not commonly found in the local houses. 
This house on Legare Street, just down the street from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist,  is looking ready for spring. 
These beautiful buildings are all part of the grouping that make up St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church on Anson Street.
https://charleston.pastperfectonline.com/archive/F0041285-B3EB-459E-872A-328985634045
You can find this handsome 100 year old house at the corner of South Battery and Limehouse Street. The blue on the door is unusual to find used this way in Charleston.
St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church on Anson Street was built in 1850. In 1991 a garden was created behind it to honor of one of the congregation's members -- Philip Simmons, the renowned ironworker whose incredible gates and other works are found throughout the city. Access to the garden can be had through Simmon's famous "Heart Gate."
This beautiful house was built in about 1799, but was moved from its original location -- which was about 100 feet north of the current spot -- in 1967. It was moved to make way for the development around what is now the Charleston Gaillard Center. You'd never know that this was not its original home.
This modern addition to the Historic District can be seen from Murray Boulevard. Very different, but very cool.
This grand house on George Street was built in the late 1790's, had a run of over 100 years as the home to the Charleston Commissioners of Public Works and now is the offices of the Spoleto Festival USA arts festival.
This beautiful door leads on to the piazza of the second house the owner built on Limehouse Street. The first was built in 1857 and was sold after his wife died. In 1859 he built this one directly across the street from the first, after marrying his first wife's sister!
This part of the Charleston Gaillard Center looks a bit surprised. I've always wondered if that was intentional.
This circa 1774 house is a great example of the 18th century Charleston single house. The door, which opens directly on to the porch of the house, is called a "hospitality door." If the door was open, it signaled that you were receiving visitors. If it was closed, you were not receiving. The actual entry into the house is halfway down the porch.
This window-boxed house is a slice of Rainbow Row -- the iconic stretch of Georgian houses on East Bay Street.
This festive house and gate on East Battery sure is in the Valentine's Day mood.
The Charleston Gaillard Center, named after former mayor J. Palmer Gaillard Jr., is one of the premier arts centers in Charleston.
This gorgeous house -- whose front door is on Water Street, but which is oriented to Charleston Harbor -- was built by Nathaniel Ingraham in about 1818. Ingraham had previously served on the American navy ship the Bonhomme Richard, under the command of  John Paul Jones (who is credited with saying, "I have not yet begun to fight).
The Miles Brewton House is one of the most significant houses in Charleston and is considered to be one of the premier examples of  Georgian architecture in America. Completed in 1769, it has a rich and interesting history -- including having been used as the headquarters for the British army during the American Revolutionary War and the Union Army during the Civil War.
The steeple of the Unitarian Church looks beautiful, and a bit spooky, at night. The construction of the church began in 1772 and wasn't completed until 1787 -- as work was suspended for the duration of the British occupation of Charleston during the Revolutionary War.
The Hotel Bennett, the newest hotel in Charleston opened last weekend, on the site of the old Charleston Public Library -- on the corner of Marion Square. A very high end hotel, it took 13 years for it to build.
These arches support the principal piazza of a 1817 house, which is now used as offices at the College of Charleston -- 69 Coming Street.
This beautiful house on Tradd Street, built in 1740, is one of the earliest examples of the Charleston single house. This one is unusual because it retained its street-front entrance.
This beautiful plantation style house on Vanderhorst Street was built in the mid-1820's by John Bickley, a lumber merchant and rice planter.
These columns are part of the front of Randolph Hall on the campus of the College of Charleston. One of the oldest college buildings still in use in the United States, Randolph Hall is now the home for much of the administrative functions of the college.
This handsome pre-Colonial house (c. 1740) on Tradd Street was built out of brick and Bermuda stone, which you can find in many of the houses and other buildings of that era.
The Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC has helped countless people and families. While not a traditional looking Charleston building, it sure plays an important role.
St. Marks Church was founded in 1865 by a group of free black Episcopalians after the end of the Civil War -- as they had no other place to worship. 
This well groomed house on Tradd Street is certainly eye-catching. 
The congregation of St. Philip's Church was established in 1681. The current iconic and gorgeous current building, which is the third to house the congregation, was built in 1836 (and the steeple completed in 1850). 
With its striking blue glazed bricks, the Bluestein Building on King Street is one of the most eye-catching commercial buildings in Charleston.